PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Nuclear receptors are a large and diverse family of ligand-regulated transcription factors involved in numerous physiological/metabolic processes that are critical to normal growth and development. Aberrations in such receptors, their ligands, their associated co-regulatory proteins, or upstream/downstream regulatory pathways drive numerous illnesses and metabolic disorders, including developmental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurological disorders, immunological disorders, liver disorders, and numerous cancers. Scientific meetings provide an important venue for investigators to present, discuss, and evaluate in the latest advancements in such rapidly moving fields. To this end, the 8th biannual Great Lakes Nuclear Receptor (GLNR) Conference will be held on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus in Minneapolis on October 18-19, 2018. The GLNR Conference Organizing Committee members include Scott Dehm, Ph.D., Carol Lange, Ph.D., and Jill Siegfried, Ph.D., who have active research programs in the field of nuclear receptor biology. The 8th GLNR Conference is expecting 150 scientists and medical professionals, representing a cross section of universities, institutes, and nonprofit organizations around the Midwest and Canada. The 8th GLNR Conference will attract experts in all aspects of nuclear receptor research ranging from basic science to clinical studies. Conferences like the GLNR Conference offer a unique and outstanding opportunity for investigators at various levels in academia to exchange their latest findings and initiate new collaborations. The regional focus of the GLNR Conference enables investigators at an early stage of their career to have a better opportunity to attend and participate based on affordability and ease of travel. This regional focus also facilitates participation of individuals and groups that are nationally underrepresented in science. The GLNR Conference has been a recurring conference since 2003, designed to encourage discussion and networking between senior, junior and new investigators, and also between various disciplines in the field of nuclear receptors, all of which will foster the development of innovative research.